Basically, I had this idea recently to set up a thread around two "clans" I had created called the von Strauss and the Kaidan. I only have information on the Von Strauss, and am hoping for ideas on the Kaidan.----------------------------Family life:

Viktor is a member of a group of peoples called the von Strauss. Despite this being used has his surname, that is misleading. His people collectively are named von Strauss, which in their tongue means “The Strong”, and are very community minded, hence why they all von Strauss has their surname. Although, amongst the community they identify each other by the tattoos on their bodies, which serve has a protection against the magical attacks of the creatures in their lands, as well as identifying the family that they came from.

In Viktor’s time, the tattoos of those mated together usually tend to be a combination of the familial tattoos between the mates, so it is very possible to trace the family line by simply looking at the von Strauss’s tattoos. When they marry outside of the von Strauss, the tattoos are often added to the arms to continue the tradition. However, in Viktor’s time, most of the von Strauss will marry inside the community, as the people are as cold and hard as the knain [literally meaning spirit-chain in their language] that they use to break their targets.

Knain and their uses:

The knain (pronounced kah-nayn) are living weapons are believed to be possessed by spirits or other magical entities. The knain are sentient, and they chose their ‘master’ based on their Kah, or true spirit. However, after the Breaking, the weapons no longer picked based on the Kah, as this form was sealed away, and considered inaccessible by the von Strauss. The knain now pick their people based on their Sah. The weapons lost the name as of Kah-nayn as well, and are known has ‘daggerchain’.

Long before Viktor, the von Straus were a people who only used their knain to bring happiness to their people and protect them from the dangers of their homeland. The weapons were both ceremonial and mundane; they also often marked those who were predestined to fall in love by wrapping itself around their arms, marrying the pair. It happened more often in these legendary and golden times. The knain could bring pleasure to those that it touched, and it could bring pain too. The secret to making the knain bring pleasure was lost however, during the great Breaking of the von Strauss.

Dual Spirits:

Before the Breaking, each member of the von Strauss had two spirits Sah and the Kah. The Sah was characterized as their ‘regular’ form, a tanned skin with golden irises. Their powers were limited to what they could do with the tattoos, which negated all magic aimed at them when they are activated, as well as causing those ‘marked’ by the knain to experience minor feelings. Examples of this are pain and occasionally a relaxing touch. However, in their Kah form, or their ‘true’ form, characterized by an ashen grey skin with the tattoos glowing bright yellow, and it allowed them to manipulate their knain and the powers locked inside, such has making those who are ‘marked’ to feel great amounts of pleasure to those closest to them. Viktor is unusual in the ability among modern day von Strauss to make those injured by his knain feel pain, relaxing feelings, and numbness. He can also speak to them through their mind, and cause them to hallucinate. This is because he unusually in synch with his Kah form, having taken it once when approached by Vivian Snow. The Kah form is usually only taken when the person is in their natural element, or feeling severely threatened or highly emotional. Before the Breaking it was possible for somebody to switch between their Sah and their Kah at will, but this power has been lost.

The Breaking of the von Strauss:

Roughly three thousand years before Viktor was born, his people were peaceful people who used their knain for hunting and getting closer to god. They often were used to inflict pain or pleasure on those who used them, as well as those that they were used upon. They were hunter-gatherers in their lands, living in harmony with their lands. All of this changed when the Breaking happened. They do not speak the name of the one who caused the Breaking, except in hushed and fearful whispers, nor do they name their child after him. He is the One who was heartless, and they call him now the Vonsah-Tor, meaning “the Animal Master”. It is unknown for sure what it was that the Vonsah-Tor did to turn the people into the cold, heartless Sah locked forms that they are now, perhaps he lead an open rebellion against the Vonkah-Tor [The Spirit-Master], or perhaps it was just he came into power. All they know is that the Vonsah-Tor was of the Vonkah-Tor’s family, either his brother or son. Whatever the case was, the Vonsah-Tor ‘broke’ and ‘trained’ the Vonkah-Tor and eventually made the rest of the von Strauss become the same way, locking away for the most part, the Kah form.

Social Structure[Pre-Breaking]:

The von Strauss before the Breaking can be broken best into two sects. Depending on which Spirit form they were more in tune with determined where they went. Those more attuned to their Sah would be called the vonkah, or “the Animals”. They were the military and police force, as well as the hunters of society. Those who are attuned to their Kah would be called the vonkah, and served as tenders to the home as well as spiritual ceremonies. Each sect had a Tor, or Master who lead the society. The Vonsah-Tor [The Animal Master] would be only answerable to the Vonkah-Tor [The Spirit-Master]. In Viktor’s society, before his people were wiped out, the vonkah were few and far between, often dying at a young age. Viktor is the exception to this rule, has he would be recognized in the age before the Breaking as the Vonkah-Tor. In modern von Strauss society, his people are all hunters and breakers of men. Though Viktor believes himself to be the last von Strauss, this is untrue. There are scattered remains of the descendants of the vonkah and vonsah who still blindly cling to some of the old ways.

Duties of the Vonkah:

The Vonkah, as mentioned above were the farmers and spiritual members of the society. They tended to the crops and prayed to the Gods for rain and a good hunt, and wrote the history of their people down, as well as the safe return of the vonsah from their hunts and battles. The Vonkah-Tor lead them in these ways, and was often the strongest of them in the ways of spirits. They could use these spirits to create rain, however only did it when they were in dire need of it, as it would cause some form of a disaster within the next year. The Vonkah-Tor also directed where to hunt, as well as when it was wise to fight and when it was not. They often relied on the Spirits to tell them this, and the occasional inaccuracy of the Spirits may of lead to the Vonsah-Tor’s rebellion.

Duties of the Vonsah:

The Vonsah would hunt, as well as serve as the protective force of the society. They also worked as the village guards. They were trained in martial arts, as well as using their knain in the best possible way to defeat their enemy or take down a wild animal. The Vonsah-Tor would lead these men into battle as well as on the hunt, only answering to the will of the Vonkah-Tor. When a member of the Vonsah was particularly heroic or powerful, they were called the Vyk-tor, or “Battle-Master”.

Social Structure [Post-Breaking]:

The von Strauss as a whole of society is largely composed of the vonsah, due to the inability of most vonkah to withstand the Trials of the Sahvik [Animal-Battle], a painful process in which the mother must break her own child by physical torture, followed by the father breaking the child by emotional and psychological torture. The parents do not survive the process. After the Trials, the von Strauss is considered an adult and they may begin to hire themselves out to break other societies, a great deal of von Strauss take great pleasure in the work, and many of them are addicted to causing pain. There are still rumors of the knain bonding still happening, however most of the times they are treated as heresy and lies and are to not be paid attention to.

The Tattoos:

As mentioned briefly above, the tattoos serve dual purposes. One is identifying bloodlines, while the other is protection against the magical beasts that roamed their lands. These beasts could harness the magical energy in all beings and throw it at each other. The tattoos are traditionally called Kahven, or “Spirit-Marks”. They work by invoking the power of the Spirits and Gods to create a shield of energy that negates or reverses the magical energy of their opponents, effectively rendering magical attacks useless. All forms of magic are reversed. If they are attacked directly by somebody either in control, or under the influence of a magical entity, such as a Demon, the attacks are turned against themselves, however, if a possessed being attacks on its own free will, the attack is treated as a normal attack, and the von Strauss will have to defend accordingly.

The Passing of the History:Most history of the von Strauss was passed down orally, though before the Breaking, the vonkah wrote their history down on tablets. Many of these tablets are still in existence today, though they are buried in the Forbidden Lands, where only those who are fit to become the leader of the von Strauss go. It is there that the learn their past, and it is there that they change the course of their history, depending on who is in power.------------------------All I have on the Kaidan are-1) They're a clan of assassins who HATE the von Strauss.2) Their names almost always mean Ghost in English from a foreign language (i.e Yurei and Shiryo are both forms of a "Ghost" from Japan.)

Last edited by Wyrgh Snow on Sun 09 Feb 2014, 10:01 pm; edited 1 time in total